NBA roundup: Curry drops 42 as Warriors rout Cavs

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, right, drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jordan Clarkson in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Cleveland. The Warriors won 129-105. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Stephen Curry made nine 3-pointers and scored 42 points, Kevin Durant added 25 and the Golden State Warriors came back to face a very different looking Cleveland team for the first time since winning another NBA title, and beat the Cavaliers 129-105 on Wednesday night.

Curry scored nine points in less than a minute midway through the fourth quarter to help the Warriors pull away for their eighth straight over their former Finals rivals.

It was Golden State’s first visit to Cleveland since June, when the Warriors completed a sweep to win their third championship in four years.

Nothing looked the same.

The Cavaliers lost LeBron James over the summer as a free agent and are starting from scratch after a four-year run as Eastern Conference champions. Cleveland also is playing without injured All-Star Kevin Love, forward J.R. Smith is on a forced hiatus and the team recently traded Kyle Korver.

Tristan Thompson, one of the only holdovers from those powerful Cleveland teams, had 19 rebounds and 14 points. Rookie Collin Sexton scored 20 points for Cleveland.

THUNDER 114, NETS 112

NEW YORK — Paul George scored 25 of his 47 points in a sensational fourth quarter, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left that lifted Oklahoma City past Brooklyn.

George rallied the Thunder from a 23-point deficit and finished a point shy of his career high, leading them to a fourth straight victory in a game they trailed big for much of the way.

Russell Westbrook had his 108th career triple-double to snap a tie with former Nets star and coach Jason Kidd for third in NBA history, finishing with 21 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds.

Allen Crabbe scored 22 points and tied a season high with seven 3-pointers for New Jersey.

NUGGETS 124, MAGIC 118, OT

After Terence Ross tied it for Orlando with a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets outscored the Magic 9-2 until Nikola Vucevic dunked for the Magic’s first field goal of the overtime session with just 1:04 left.

TIMBERWOLVES 121, HORNETS 104

Towns tied a career high with six blocks and had 12 rebounds. Wiggins tied season highs with six rebounds and five assists. Jeff Teague had a season-high 18 assists, and Taj Gibson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. Jeremy Lamb had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, and Nicholas Batum also finished with 18 points.

PELICANS 132, MAVERICKS 106

NEW ORLEANS — Julius Randle had 27 points and 18 rebounds to help New Orleans beat Dallas.

Anthony Davis had 27 points, a career-high nine assists and five blocks despite twisting his ankle and briefly leaving the court for treatment after stepping on Dorian Finney-Smith’s foot.

WIZARDS 131, HAWKS 117

Wizards star guard John Wall missed the game because of personal reasons.

John Collins had a career-high 26 points and added 14 rebounds for Atlanta.

BUCKS 115, PISTONS 92

MILWAUKEE — Eric Bledsoe matched his season high with 27 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 15 in Milwaukee’s victory over Detroit.

Milwaukee countered an opening basket with nine consecutive points and did not trail after that. The Bucks led 30-21 after one quarter, 56-45 at halftime and then opened the third period with a 19-4 run.